Jean, We Will Miss You!

Villa Mir Farm lost a good friend this week, with the passing of Jean Krizman. Jean passed away suddenly in her home, at the age of 86. The Plain Dealer has a nice obituary which details mostly her significant professional accomplishments and her contributions to charities like the Red Cross and the Slovene Home for the Aged. But they missed the verve and wit and spirit of the lady herself - and that's a shame. She was a long-time friend of my family - one of my Aunt Helen's closest friends - but I only really got to know her in the last 15 years. After my mother died, she became a surrogate for consultations on cooking: how to make potica, whether to use a mixer to make bread dough (she said 'yes'), whose Slovenian sausage was the best (of course, she was biased in favor of Krizman!). She loved a good party - never missed Farm and Fun, and she and friend Molly Strunge stayed late into the night, hoping for a good polka, even if it was played on the banjo! Jean was admirable in so many ways - she became a senior executive at Stouffer's at a time when women weren't expected to rise in the ranks of corporations, she devoted much of her time to worthy causes throughout her life, and she was a devout Catholic who lived her faith without preaching it. So we will miss Jean in our lives - I am hoping that the God she believed in put together a great party to welcome her to heaven, and I like to think of her with a glass of wine, surrounded by her friends and family who have passed on and toasting each other with a hearty 'nas zdravja'!